One day he’d call in all the favors I owed him, but hopefully that day wouldn’t be any time soon.
The stores either side of Gary’s– a tattoo parlor and a bakery– both kept human business hours. But there was a bar on the corner that might prove helpful. At the very least, maybe some of these stores had cameras positioned on their doors or windows. Even a reflection of the guy in the cloak could help.
The Mage Council had left Gary’s store unlocked. Assholes. This store was his livelihood, and the damage done to his business was monumental. Maybe I could set up some kind of GoFundMe for when he got out of the hospital.
I flipped on a light and scanned the wreckage in front of me. My heart hurt. At the time, the devastation to the store had been peripheral as I focused on Gary and the kids. Now, it was a stark reminder of how they’d nearly lost their lives. I had no doubt that if the man responsible for the brutal attack on Gary knew his kids had seen him, he would’ve killed them without a thought.
Oh, I was going to enjoy hurting him.
I scanned the space. Nothing out of the ordinary. I methodically worked my way from behind the counter across the store to where I’d found the kids, and back toward the door.
Nothing.
Frustration welled, but I forced it down. I’d question potential witnesses, talk to the kids again, and hopefully, Gary would regain consciousness soon and tell me what he knew.
If his brain was still working correctly of course. I rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands. “Fuck.”
My phone buzzed and I gratefully took the distraction, glancing at the screen. Cara.
Get to the Mage Council. I have something to show you.
I typed a quick reply.I’m fired, remember? I highly doubt I have access.
I strode back toward Gary’s counter and rifled through one of the drawers until I found a spare key. Then I locked the door behind me as I left.
I can get you in. Just get here. Now.
My curiosity was officially piqued. I drove to the Mage Council’s facility just in case I needed to make a quick getaway. If I was caught in the building, they’d likely kill me quick, hiding my body somewhere it would never be found.
Cara was waiting downstairs for me with a tech mage she introduced as Ethan. He pushed his glasses up on his nose and gave me a wide-eyed look.
I scowled at him. “Yep, I’m her. Vicious demon protector extraordinaire.”
Cara rolled her eyes. “Charming as ever, Danica.”
Ethan walked toward the spelled bowl of water, and I felt him collect his power. If he could truly get around the sign-in spell, then he was a friend I needed to have.
I squinted at Cara. “How’d you know I’d be awake?”
She laughed. “I saw the paranormal news. Your little video has gone viral on the human channels too. I don’t know many people who could sleep after that.”
She wasn’t wrong. Ethan muttered to himself, and the bowl turned green. I peered at it, barely breathing. The spell was designed to carefully monitor anyone who stepped through the lobby doors. The bowl shouldn’t have turned green until each of us had held our hand above it and waited for our palms to be magically read.
Ethan had a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead. If the council found out what he could do, he was dead.
“Thank you,” I told him.
“Don’t mention it. He shot a desperate look at Cara. “Can I go now?”
“You sure can,” she purred, winking at him, and he blushed. Then he glanced at me and practically ran out of the lobby.
“How’d you make that happen?”
“He owed me a favor. Plus, he wants to get into my pants.”
We stepped into the elevator and I studied her. “Why are you helping me? Don’t you know I’m a dirty traitor?”
She eyed me. “You forget I was working these same streets for years before I was promoted. I know exactly what kind of hard decisions you have to make sometimes. If those witches had managed to steal Samael’s power, they would’ve made the Decade of Despair look like a good time.”
